How important is data for improving your product on a scale of 1 to 5?

I'd go with 3. Data is extremely important, but in my humble opinion, your domain knowledge makes the difference. And it's that knowledge that lets you actually solve the problem; data can be searched to understand what people need, but they rarely tell you the solution to the problem you're trying to solve. Always remember the Ford quote, "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses".

Depends how far along you are and the type of product (plus what you see as data, I assume in my answer that you're referring to quant tracking of user behavior on SaaS/platforms). If you're working with your first 50 users, then trends and metric gathering will not really give you comprehensive insights and configuring the systems will take more time than sending out surveys/having 1:1 calls with users. Your product might also go through some big changes and you might pivot some parts, rendering some of the configuration to be outdated quite quickly.

for our product, we find this essential! By looking at how users use our product and feedback, we can make improvements that otherwise we might not have realised

It is hard to argue with data, Ozan. One should also consider qualitative research as well, especially in earlier days. Just by talking to your first few customers one can learn a ton more than by looking at low volume data. With the time data becomes even more important. Basic stats theory, right?

Definitely 5 - data helps you spot trends, identify issues, understand how users are reacting to your product. However, even if you have all the data in the world, it’s useless if you don’t know how to turn raw data into meaningful data.

5 100%. Understanding how customers use your product, sticking points, user journeys etc is a massive consideration in what defines your roadmap. We noticed with our product that there were some features we thought were straightforward but the customer feedback proved otherwise 😅.

I suppose 5 ? I think even the simple idea of knowing if you should improve your product lies within the data itself.

Solid question! 🤔 I'd rate it a resounding 5! Data is the secret sauce for refining and evolving a product. It's like the compass guiding us toward innovation and excellence. How about you?